Cynthia Cooke Nyary
New Gloucester, ME – Cynthia Cooke Nyary of New Gloucester, Maine,
died peacefully at her home on Sept. 18, 2025. She was 97.
To say someone was “a learner” was Cynthia’s greatest compliment. To
her it meant that anyone was redeemable, however imperfect, if they
remained curious and brave. And Cynthia was the consummate learner.
Born in Bay City, Mich., on July 8, 1928, Cynthia graduated from Bay
City Central High School and went to Bennington College, a foreign
world to a naive, pretty young woman from a small midwestern city.
Later she would tell stories about listening to the Weavers and
watching Martha Graham dance, and how Peter Drucker was her advisor,
Erich Fromm and Stanely Kunitz were among her professors, and she
babysat for Shirley Jackson.
After graduating she moved to New York City, where she met her first
husband, Nicholas Nyary, eventually moving to Weston, Mass., and later
Wellesley. The mother of three small children, she received a masters
in early childhood development from Wheelock College and worked as an
elementary school teacher in Ashland, Mass., for 15 years, earning a
CAGS.
Cynthia met the love of her life, her second husband, Donald Levitan,
just as each of them was retiring. Eventually settling in Northampton,
they loved to travel to New York City to see the opera and they would
also go to the showings at the local cinema, always with peanut butter
and apple sandwiches to sustain them.
She and Don traveled extensively with the organization now known as
Road Scholar, including a boat trip down the Danube, and a six-week
visit to China. They volunteered at the Northampton Survival Center
and were active in the Lathrop Community. She took many courses with
the Five College Learning in Retirement program.
Cynthia adored her grandchildren, recognizing each one for who they
were and met them there, including talking books and politics, sharing
meals, and swapping stories about everyone’s travels.
She enjoyed cooking, she was an excellent knitter, and she gardened
into her late eighties.
In 2022 Cynthia moved from Easthampton to Maine, where she loved
watching the birds, taking the adaptive exercise class at the Freeport
YMCA, and participating in monthly game nights.
A voracious reader to the very end, Cynthia always had at least one
book going – usually two or three. She read the newspaper every day
until the week before she died. She made friends even in her last
days, chatting with the hospice staff and asking about their children.
She wasn’t afraid to die, she said, she was wondering what it would be
like.
In short, she was a learner throughout her life: curious, brave – and
deeply loved.
Cynthia is survived by her three daughters: Bondi Nyary of Portland,
Ore.; Cate Nyary (Maurizio Trevisan) of Rome, Italy; and Sasha Nyary
(Kris Wills) of New Gloucester, Maine; and by her cat, Pamela.
She also leaves four grandchildren: Jordan Wysong of Portland, Ore.,
Anneke Levine of Williamsburg, Mass., Jonah Levine of Grenada Hills,
Calif.; and Lily Ruderman of Holyoke, Mass.
She is survived by her sister, Judy Cooke Hanson of Portland, Ore. She
was predeceased by her late husband, Donald Levitan.
A celebration of life will be held in New Gloucester, Maine, on July
11, 2026. And you can visit her and Don’s bench in Look Memorial Park,
located near the footbridge by the entrance.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Maine Audubon or give to
your local public library. Go to legacy.com to read the full version
of this obituary.